Pittsburgh is a story of interfaith healing

Christians, Muslims and Jews in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will take a spin on the ice at a skating rink this fall. Interfaith groups will lap the ice just about a month and five years after the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting took 11 lives.

The point is “getting to know each other as neighbors," said Rev. Jonathon Jensen, rector at Calvary Episcopal Church, where Jewish congregants from Tree of Life have held services and events alongside Episcopalians since the deadly attack on Oct. 27, 2018.

In the aftermath of the antisemitic attack, Pittsburghers provided the nation with an example of strong relations across faiths, with Muslim communities raising funds for funeral costs for the victims, and Christians providing a sanctuary where Jewish congregants could pray.

The community provides a model of interfaith progress and the small, meaningful moments of joy that sometimes come as a result. Their message of shared spirituality is crucial amid an unprecedented conflict in Israel and Gaza and rising attacks against Jews and Muslims in the U.S.

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